Improvement in bedstead-fastenings



1. MgsTEwART.`

Improvement in Bd'stead-Fastenings.

N`0. 130,328, Patented ug. 6,1872.

WllwmmM flue/Jrg UNITED STATES' PATENT OFFICE.

JoEN M. STEWART, on NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, AssieNoE 'ro oscAn EAENETT, or sAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN BEDSTEAD-FASTENINGS.

Specification forming part of Letters latent No. 130,328, dated August 6, 1872.

.To whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OHN lll. STEWART, of Newark, Essex county, New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bedstead-Fastenin gs, of which the following is a specification:

My invention relates to fastenings for holding together the rails and posts of bedsteads, and it has special reference to that portion of the fastening which is usually applied to the rail. This portion is provided with hooks, which are designed to catch in a slotted plate in the post; and the hooks areformed on a plate which is let in a recess in the rail, and is there held in such position that only the hooks will project beyond the end of the rail.

Difficulty is experienced in fitting together i the two parts of the fastening so that they will hold together closely, owing to various causesas, for instance, the post is sometimes crooked, or out of.true,7 or the slotted plate is not accurately placed in its proper position with respect to the hooks, in either of which events.

the hooks may require to be adjusted so as to bring one of them out further than the other, in order to make a tight joint. The object of my invention is to remedy this difficulty in a simple and economical manner, preserving at the same time the needed strength and solidity ofthe fastening. The manner in which I obtain this result will be readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure l is a view of a portion of a bedsteadrail and the hook portion of the fastening lotated therein. Fig. 2 is a view of a like portion of the rail with a modified form of the hook pa-rt of the fastening. Fig. 3 is a view of the fastening shown in Fig. 2 detached from the rail. Fig. 4 is a view of a portion of the with the catch-plate contained therein.

The rail is shown at A, the hook portion of the fastening at B,and the recess in which the fastening-plate is placed at C. The recess C is made circular, as .this is the easiest form to cut, and it is of such depth that the fastener B, when placed therein, will be about flush with the side of the rail in which the recess is formed. The part of the fastener B received in the rail has its edges, which are contiguous to the sides of the recess, curved to correspond in shape therewith. Upon the inner side of the bed-post,

fastener, or the side which rests on the bottom vof the recess, is formed a pin, a, indicated by the dotted lines, which fits in a socket of proper depth in the rail. The holes b in the plate are for the purpose of reducing the metal in the fastener as far as prudent without detracting from its strength. The plate is provided with two hooks, c, formed with beveled ribs, in the usual manner, to fit the corresponding ledges in the slotted catch-plate O, shown in Fig. 4. The ends of these hooks are formed into beaks d, which project beyond the periphery of the plate, and are designed, when the fastener is applied to the rail, to be in line with the end of the rail. Recesses e, of a slight depth, but sufficient to allow the necessary rocking or tilting of the fastener on its axis a, are formed in the end of the rail, of a size to receive the beaks d, as shown.

Under this arran ement it will be seen' that the fastener will adjust itself to the slotted catch-plate O, as it is capable of a limited vibration on its pin a, to permit either the top or bottom hook to advance, as\desired, the other hook being proportionately drawn back, the extent of movement being determined by the depth of the recesses e. These recesses may be formed either by cutting them, but before applying the fastener to the rail, or by first applying the fastener and then tapping it with a hammer at each end, so as to force back and compress the wood which lies under the beaks d. In Fig. l the Apin t is inserted in a socket which is at the center of the circular recess C. The pin, therefore, is cylindrical, as is also its socket. In Figs. 2 and 3, however, is shown a fastener adapted to be fitted in a recess where the socket is not in the center of the circle upon which the recess is cut. In every essential respect, except as to the pin, the fastener is the same in construction and arrangement as that in Fig. 1. The pin f, however, is oval in section,'the point or thinnest part being toward the rear of the plate. The socket in which itis placed in the rail is of cylindrical form, however, as before, of a diameter equal to the longest axis of the pin, as shown in Fig. 2. 0n each side of the pin, therefore, there is a space left, which serves to allow it all necessary freedom of motion to permit the requisite tilting or rocking of the plate.

This improvement is specially adapted for fasteners having two hooks at a distance apart7 and working each in its own slot inthe catchplate.

The fastener is covered and held in place by a strip, g, in the usual manner. t,

Havingdescribed my invention and the manner in which the saine is or may be carried into effect, what I claim, and desire to`secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A bedstead-fastener, consisting of a plate provided with two hooks and a laterally-projecting pin or stud, the same being constructed and adapted to be used substantially as and for the purposes shown and set forth.

nesses.

JOHN M. STEWART. Witnesses:

EDM. F. BROWN, C. B. NOTTINGHAM. 

